Dundee United manager Robbie Neilson has revealed how he has been involved in the careers of both Hibs’ manager and star man.
Neilson will spend Sunday trying to lead his Championship leaders to victory over the Premiership side in the William Hill Scottish Cup clash at Tannadice.
In the away dugout will be Jack Ross, while on the pitch trying to dictate play for the visitors will be ex-Tangerine Scott Allan.
Neilson has crossed paths with both.
When he was boss of Hearts, he gave Ross a big break in coaching when he took him to Tynecastle from Dumbarton.
Also, he was a voice of experience around a young Allan when the midfielder was a young talent at United.
Neilson said: “I know Jack from his time at Hearts.
“It was me who brought him in from Dumbarton and he had done really well.
“I took him because I liked his energy.
“He was there with Ian Murray, who was Dumbarton manager at the time.
“We were looking to bring somebody in for our under-20s and so it was a good fit at the time.
“Jack subsequently went to Alloa and did well there, and with St Mirren, before he went down to Sunderland.
“That is a very tough job and he did as well as could be expected down there.”
As for Allan, Neilson and the now Hibs playmaker used to car share on their way through from the west to United’s training.
“I played with Scott very briefly for three or four months before he left.
“He is a good kid and I used to travel up and down from Glasgow with him, John Rankin, Barry Douglas and Johnny Russell.
“He went down to West Brom and it didn’t quite work out for him down there but he is a very good player.
“He has a pass on him and is one of the players we have to watch on Sunday.
“Over the years, he has played in the English Premier League, English Championship and European football with Celtic.
“He has had a good career and you can still see he has quality.”
Neilson, meanwhile, isn’t sure if the winter break that Hibs have just had will be a factor in the cup-tie.
They haven’t played since losing 2-0 at Livingston on December 29, while United will have a spring in their step after beating Partick last Saturday.
Neilson said: “It is hard to tell.
“Some teams come back and are flying and others it can take a wee bit of time to get going again.
“I am sure they will have been working hard and on a few things but from our perspective it is a great game for us.
“Hopefully, we will get a full house at Tannadice, which would be great.”
